Misty-Eyed Pride

When your children are little, the most simple things–like sitting and waving–are worthy of photos, journal entries, and a host of other documentation methods. 

When they go off to school for the first time, news of their accomplishments tends to move to the refrigerator for all who pass by to notice and praise.

Milestone after milestone, new step after new step, we watch our offspring make their way in the world, proudly holding their hands when we can and beaming from the sidelines when we can’t.

But I’ve noticed that the closer they get to adulthood, the harder the milestones are getting. For me. These girls I’ve nurtered since day one are taking steps that will enable them to live on their own one day.

On their own.

Without me.

Sure, it’s what every parent wants–for their children to be successful and happy adults capable of standing on their own two feet. But just because we want it, doesn’t mean it’s always easy to watch.

Like yesterday.

I stood huddled under an umbrella as my daughter pulled away from the curb with the DMV tester who was tasked with the job of determining whether she’s ready to drive a car. As she disappeared down the road, I couldn’t help but notice the way it got harder and harder to breathe. I’ve loved this little girl every second of her life. To watch her drive away, to know it won’t be long before she’s pulling away from the curb in a car that’s jam packed with her belongings for her own life’s journey was, well, exciting and heartbreaking all at the same time.

But no matter where my heart’s teeter totter is at any given time, I know one thing for sure. I am so very proud of the young woman she is becoming.  I may have given her the starting puff, but she’s spread her wings all on her own.

~Elizabeth

Full Salvage Mode

The unofficial end of summer is just days away and for the first time in a very long time, I can’t say that I’m sad to see it go. Don’t get me wrong, there were some good parts of summer this year, but there were some trying parts, too.

The excessive heat wave that hit the New York area (and, frankly, the rest of the country) in mid July was a tough time for me thanks to my M.S. Those ten or so days yanked all of my energy right out of of my body (and brain) at a time I was facing a pretty important deadline.

A few other trials came into play just as the heat wave was subsiding and my energy level was doing its best to rebound sans steroids. I made it, but the next few weeks were less than ideal with a deadline that had grown much too tight, and some unrelated yet unexpected (a.k.a. unncessary) stress that seemed to go on…and on…and on.

Then, just as I started to breathe a little easier, Irene came knocking.  Ahhhh….

Which leaves me right where I am at the moment–looking around at the final days of summer and wondering how I can squeeze every last ounce of goodness out of them before saying farewell to the Summer of 2011.  Some of my ideas (whether they happen or not) to aid in that effort include: reading, spiff-ifying my office (which actually makes me happy), and spending as much time with my Very Special Guy as possible before the school year and its crazy schedule starts back up again.

So what kind of plans do you have for the remaining days of summer?

~Elizabeth

**For those of you who weighed in on the subject of the perfect Southern Sewing Circle cast yesterday, I got such a kick out of your answers! Thank you!! All the ideas were great with my absolute favorite being Doris Roberts for Dixie (wow, that couldn’t be more perfect). After I read all of the great responses, I put everyone’s name into a hat and drew out one lucky winner for a few special little goodies. And the winner is Carolyn C! Congratulations, Carolyn C. If you send your snail mail addy to me at: ElizabethLCasey@aol.com, I’ll get your surprise out in the mail early next week!!

NJ, Here We Come!

Thirty-three years ago, we met for the first time and we’ve been friends ever since.

Life has shot us in different directions at times (both geographically and otherwise) but we always know each other is there…whether it’s to laugh, cry, talk, listen, or giggle like a bunch of 4th graders all over again. There’s no judging, no trying to change the other person, no facades. Just a bunch of memories that we’re about to add to tonight when we head off to see the Journey/Foreigner/Night Ranger concert (blast from the past, huh?) together in New Jersey.

We all need the night together for different reasons. For one, it’s a night away from young kids. For another, it’s a chance to detox after a month of grieving. And for me, it’s a chance to let go of some stress and just have fun.

I’ll post pictures on Friday of the three of us wearing the concert t-shirts we’ll no doubt buy just because we can!

In the meantime, when’s the last time you got together with old friends? What did you do?

~Elizabeth

Back In The Saddle

In the event you think I’ve forgotten about all of you–I haven’t. I’ve just had my nose buried in my computer the past week as I put the finishing touches on my first Amish cozy mystery–HEARSE AND BUGGY (due out June 2012). The rest of today is about the final tweak/polish and then I get to turn it over to my editor. Yay!

Once that’s done, I’m giving myself a few glorious days off before tackling some edits on REAP WHAT YOU SEW (April 2012) and writing the first three chapters of a new romance for Harlequin American. The romance, itself, isn’t due until January but I’ve got to send the first three chaps to that editor as a sort of looksee. Then, come September 2nd, it’s time to hunker down and write Sewing Circle’s first ever Christmas book (November 2012).

No rest for the weary, eh?

Anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow (and all the other days) with regular blogs. So, until then, have a great day!

~Elizabeth

From A Different Angle

Growing up, I was the kid in the family who was never very crazy about the city. I liked visiting my grandparents but I wasn’t wild about walking from the car to their apartment. I guess it was big and kind of scary to a little kid who’d been raised in the suburbs.

When I went off to college, I headed out to Ohio. After that, there were stints in South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri before, eventually, finding my way back to the New York area.  For a few months immediately following the move back east, my girls and I had an opportunity to live in my aunt’s apartment on the west side for about six weeks. Suddenly, the big city I remember as being so intimidating was like a new world. One we explored from top to bottom, learning the subways, finding our way around the park, and figuring out the steets/avenues and everything in between.

And in doing so, I uncovered something I hadn’t expected. I love the city. This place that used to make me feel so small and so inconsequential suddenly made me feel like I could do anything. Be anything.

My kids felt it, too.

I think part of that is because we got to live there. We got to be true New Yorkers. We developed an appreciation for people who let others be who they are, dress in a way that makes them happy, get around on foot power,  and leave the electronic toys and communication crutches behind in favor of thinks like walking and picnics and (gasp) talking.

A few weeks ago, I got to share this amazing city with a friend from St. Louis who was in town to attend a conference with me. Rather than stay in the hotel in the heart of Times Square (way too crowded and touristy), we stayed at my aunt’s place…where we could live like New Yorkers (the real ones, not the tourists).  The second I walked down the street and into the park, I felt like I was home.  Not home as in the structure that makes me feel warm and safe…but the home that I feel inside–a kind of contentment that allows me to truly be who I am. And to celebrate that person if only for a little while.

So tell me, have you ever gotten a true taste of a different life? City to country or country to city? Notice anything different about yourself? 

~Elizabeth

A Ticket To The Past

Over the next two-and-a-half weeks, the whole brood will be back home. And, since it’s summer, that will surely mean a few movie nights on the horizon. One (or several) of those nights will include some of the classics from the 80′s for the teenagers in the house…

The idea for such a night came after introducing the teenagers to Breakfast Club a few months ago. They liked it so much, I’m quite sure it’s been watched a few extra times since that first viewing.

While Breakfast Club is certainly a classic and one of my favorites during my own teen years, I have many others, too. So, while wandering through Target the other day, I came across a few of the best (in my opinion) on the $5 shelves. There was Footloose (a long time favorite of mine)…which I know they’ll like because all three of them love, love, love dancing (in fact, I’m willing to bet a box of Milk Duds that they’ll find the scene where Ren teaches Willard how to dance a real hoot)!  I also found Sixteen Candles.  Both have now been set aside for one of our 80′s movie nights.

I know there’s more, though. Classics. The kind that they simply shouldn’t miss.  So I posed the question on my childhood friend’s facebook page and got some great replies.  Seriously, how could I have forgotten Top Gun?? 

But I know there’s more. So tell me, what else should I be tracking down? 

~Elizabeth

A Shot of Hope

From the first moment I saw this bridge (on the “December” page of a calendar while working in Borders three-and-a-half years ago), it’s held an appeal I’m not sure I can explain. In fact, it was seeing that very picture, that convinced me to spend my 40th birthday in New York City. While there, I saw Hairspray, went to the top of the Empire State Building at midnight, and bought my very first framed photograph of the bridge.

Three years later, the image of that bridge still calls to me. It ushers in a feeling of complete peace whenever I see it–whether in a picture (I have several now) or in person (I visit it often these days). And it always brings a sense of hope. 

I got a chance to see it this past weekend and figured I’d share a shot of it (this one  taken by me) with all of you. It’s the Gapstow Bridge in Central Park if you’re curious.

So tell me, do you have a non-home setting that calls to you in much the same way?

~Elizabeth

Words of Wisdom

Sometimes life feels a bit like a rollercoaster. You’ve got your ups, you’ve got your downs, and you’ve got your something-is-coming-but-I’m-not-exactly-sure-whats. At times, I want to close my eyes and hope it all goes away. Other times, you sit up a little straighter in your chair because it’s actually kind of fun. And sure, sometimes you’d like to T your hands and take a break.

But it’s all part of life, I guess.

Lately, I’ve been getting inspirational quotes in my inbox. Some from some quote-a-day list I got on somehow (still trying to figure out how), some from my friends. What’s interesting though, is the way the right one always seems to come in on the right day. Like this one, when I was feeling low about Hobbes…

**Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.
~Bernice Johnson Reagon

And this one last week when I was having an awesome writing week…

**Chase down your passion like it’s the last bus of the night.
~Collected by Terri Guillemets

Can’t forget this one either (mostly because it’s just a good one)…

**Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
~Albert Einstein

Quotes. I like them. They have a way of motivating me…and making the dips and turns a bit easier to take thanks to a fresh perspective.

Do you have any favorite quotes?

~Elizabeth

A Pinch-Me Day

If you’ve ever clicked on the “about” page on this website or listened to me during a speaking engagement of some kind, you know that I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was ten-years-old. It’s essentially been a part of me–my hopes, my dreams, my thoughts–for over thirty years.

In 2005, that dream became a reality with the publication (small press) of my first book, Jury of One (written under Laura Bradford). A year later came, Forecast of Evil. Marked by Fate, in 2007, was the last book in that small press series by my choice.

I made that choice because I knew I wanted to reach for something bigger…

Top on the list? One of the big NY publishing houses.

In July of 2008, I realized that goal when I signed the first three books in the Southern Sewing Circle with Berkley Prime Crime (part of Penguin Publishing). 

Lots has happened in the almost three years since I signed on the dotted line with my NY house. I’ve sold a lot more books (seven so far in the sewing circle series, three romances to a different big house, and three more in my upcoming Amish mystery series–also with Berkley/Penguin). And I’ve loved it all. Every new cover, every new title, every new book written and then shelved, every new reader I’ve met, every group I’ve ever spoken to about writing, etc.

It’s a dream come true. Truly.

And the fun stuff keeps coming. Even some of the woo-woo moments, too. In fact, I had one (or two) just yesterday…

After a fabulous lunch with Editor Extraordinaire, we went to the office so I could get a picture by the sign!!

While there, I got to see a very cool case that houses some of their titles.  Mine was one of them!  See? That’s DEADLY NOTIONS in the middle.

Oh. There’s one more thing. She brought me a few cover flaps for DANGEROUS ALTERATIONS (book #5–Nov. 1, 2011). They came out so good, I’d love to give ONE away. So, if you’re a fan of the series (and happen to be reading this blog), post a comment in the comment section. Then, tomorrow morning, I’ll randomly select one cover flap winner from those who have commented. 

Not sure what a cover flap is?  It’s literally the front and back cover of the book (without the book, of course).

Have a great day!

~Elizabeth

A Self Inflicted Hug?

I envy people with a skill or talent that lends itself to uplifting “me” time. It’s as if, by the very hobby they love, they can escape from the real world into a place where contentment and fulfillment rules…something everyone can benefit from in life.

My youngest has one in her violin, though, at this age, I’m not sure she understands the gift she’s been given should she opt to continue it into adulthood. How wonderful it would be to snap open your violin case after a tough day at work and soothe away the edges with music…

There’s people like blog reader, Dru, who quilts. By her own hands, she can make items that bring a smile to someone’s face. She can embark on a project that she can watch from start to finish, knowing that she was responsible for all of it.

Then there’s someone like Lynn D, who sews and quilts and does all sort of creative things. She can lose herself in a project that will bring good to a needy child, a sick woman, a person in need of prayer. Through her skill/talent, she can make a person feel as if they matter, at a time when maybe, perhaps, they aren’t completely convinced that’s true.

People with these kinds of abilities have a built-in decompresser in their life. A way to step back from a tough place–a bad day at work, bad news from a doctor, worry over their kids–and escape into a place that’s almost hug-like. Warm. Safe. Encouraging. And, maybe even, renewing.

I don’t have a talent or skill like that. I wish I did. I wish I’d stuck with piano as a child or that I could find the time to pick up an instrument now. Sure, I like to write, and it’s an escape at times, but it’s also my job.  So I guess that’s something to add to my bucket list: Learn how to do something.

How about you? Do you have a hobby or interest that doubles as an escape/recharge?

~Elizabeth